Buy Local?

[ache_d]

I'm sure some of you have seen those "Locavore" bumper stickers or PSA's (public service announcements) encouraging, by how it sounds of course, to by local produce and other products for that matter. If I haven't lost you yet, this is where I shift this ideology to firearms, particularly AR style shops. Yeah we all know the big names and players now but there are some small shops out there doing what they can. Not extremely far from me in Wild Wonderful West Virginia is a shop called Blackheart International. http://www.bhigear.com/ They carry some solid products and make a decent rifle as well (bolt guns, carbine, rifle length, ect.) I bought a lower there for a Dano Defense build and it turned out pretty nice. It has the state rolled into the mag well which I like being from WV. The guys out there are also quality individuals who have a passion for many of the things we do as well. Sure, you may feel better with a BCM or whatever lower but its enjoyable being a "locavore" in this respect to me. I guess what I'm getting at is calling out other smaller shops in your areas and speaking to that. - H.D.

[DeltaSierra]

Before I express my opinions on the subject, let me say that I am a farmer that is very much in favor of supporting the local economy.

My issues with buying locally made weapons are:

(1) I have yet to find a local shop that can build a decent quality weapon. If a company is building a high-end firearm, they will be nationally known.

(2) Historically (for the past 150 years or so), weapons have been made by fairly large companies. These companies produce a good product (they have to in order to get contracts with various governments) and have an established track record.

Even with fairly new companies (such as Daniel Defense, or even LMT) they have a minimum standard that they will be held to, and even so, they both have contracts with military organizations.

If a company has established a reputation, why buy a local product that is inferior (often times) and does not have any reason to manufacture a military grade product, when they never have a chance of a contract in the national or international market?

[Eric D.]

Maybe I need an economics lesson but I don't get the "buy local" thing. I can understand keeping your money in the U.S. but local seems kind of silly.

From looking at their site, a few questions come to mind.

For $1250 you get:

KEY FEATURES
• The BEST-VALUE AR-style semi-automatic rifle ANYWHERE!
I beg to differ.

• Our chrome-lined barrel is the highest quality mid-length barrel you can find in an AR
Explanation?

• Superior AR performance at an entry-level price!
About $200 above entry level

[ache_d]

LOL yeah, I'm with you on "the best" or whatever other puffery they use to describe their product and if it really was, like DeltaSierra said, they would be a household name by now. Still, I'm not upset with their striped lower. There will always be small shops around but this one was an in-state name so I took a swing on this build, all things considered, and did it more from a pride stand point than anything else.

[mikeahe]

The only thing I buy local is striped lowers. I hate $50<$100 transfer fees

[samuse]

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[samuse]

How far is local?

I'm less than 200 miles from LaRue...

[ache_d]

haha I'll count it! Must be nice!

[FChen17213]

I prefer to buy local if the price is even halfway competitive with what is out there online. Unfortunately, it often isn't. When your local dealers try to sell PMags for $20 a piece, Glocks for $575, and DD ARs for $1500, you have to buy online. Hardly anyone is going to consistently go against their wallet when he or she can get the same thing for significantly less. Now if the price difference is like 15 or 20 bucks on a 500 dollar gun, I might buy local, but it frequently isn't. I know that the gun stores have to pay rent, employees, overhead etc etc. Believe me, I understand. I'm a small business owner myself. However, that doesn't mean that people will, nor should they, blindly pay significantly more for the same products.

[Frailer]

The only firearm manufacturer that's *truly* local to me makes the "Liberator" reproduction pistol, and I'm not interested in one of those.

Nevertheless, Accurate Armory is just a couple of hours down the road, and I'm very pleased with the AR I purchased from them. The price was excellent, too.